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137
Taylor had authority to take control
because just before Moore’s call for backup
was received at the armory, a telegram
arrived from Governor Russell through the
state’s adjutant general that instructed
Taylor to “ take command of Captain James’
company … and preserve the peace.” 64
64 Governor Daniel L. Russell Papers,
Correspondence, November 1898, State Archives,
North Carolina Office of Archives and History,
Raleigh.
Before the governor’s telegram
arrived, Commander George Morton of the
Naval Reserves sought approval from a city
official to grant the military authority to take
over, but he claimed he could not locate the
mayor or a police officer. Instead, Morton’s
men found Deputy Sheriff G. Z. French in
his room at the Orton Hotel and requested
permission to march Morton’s men from his
headquarters in Brooklyn. French complied,
possibly under duress, and wrote out an
order instructing Morton to “ use all force at
your disposal to quell the existing violation
of the peace in this city.”
Morton then sent a telegram to the
governor informing him of his plan of action
and also notified Walker Taylor of his
intentions. The governor later ordered
Morton to place his men under Taylor,
although the transfer of command had
already taken place by the time the telegram
was received. Morton’s men, equipped with
Lee magazine rifles and a Hotchkiss rapid-firing
gun, assembled at the corner of Third
and Princess. 65
As soon as the first shots were fired,
a “ running firefight” erupted on Harnett,
with scores of men, black and white,
running in all directions from the
intersection, some firing at the opposite side
as they ran. 66 William Mayo, a white man
who lived at 307 Harnett, was seriously
wounded by a stray bullet.
Mayo’s wounding presented a
rallying point for the whites who then began
to retaliate. Because of Mayo, whites fired
in unison into a group of black men and
another five or six died near the intersection
of Harnett and Fourth Streets. Mayo was
taken to a nearby drug store for treatment by
Dr. John T. Schonwald who lived close to
the scene. Mayo’s injury was serious, but
Telegram from Governor Russell to Walker
Taylor
Image: North Carolina State Archives
65 NC Public Documents, Adjutant General’s Report,
1899, Document 9.
66 Hayden, WLI, 88.

137
Taylor had authority to take control
because just before Moore’s call for backup
was received at the armory, a telegram
arrived from Governor Russell through the
state’s adjutant general that instructed
Taylor to “ take command of Captain James’
company … and preserve the peace.” 64
64 Governor Daniel L. Russell Papers,
Correspondence, November 1898, State Archives,
North Carolina Office of Archives and History,
Raleigh.
Before the governor’s telegram
arrived, Commander George Morton of the
Naval Reserves sought approval from a city
official to grant the military authority to take
over, but he claimed he could not locate the
mayor or a police officer. Instead, Morton’s
men found Deputy Sheriff G. Z. French in
his room at the Orton Hotel and requested
permission to march Morton’s men from his
headquarters in Brooklyn. French complied,
possibly under duress, and wrote out an
order instructing Morton to “ use all force at
your disposal to quell the existing violation
of the peace in this city.”
Morton then sent a telegram to the
governor informing him of his plan of action
and also notified Walker Taylor of his
intentions. The governor later ordered
Morton to place his men under Taylor,
although the transfer of command had
already taken place by the time the telegram
was received. Morton’s men, equipped with
Lee magazine rifles and a Hotchkiss rapid-firing
gun, assembled at the corner of Third
and Princess. 65
As soon as the first shots were fired,
a “ running firefight” erupted on Harnett,
with scores of men, black and white,
running in all directions from the
intersection, some firing at the opposite side
as they ran. 66 William Mayo, a white man
who lived at 307 Harnett, was seriously
wounded by a stray bullet.
Mayo’s wounding presented a
rallying point for the whites who then began
to retaliate. Because of Mayo, whites fired
in unison into a group of black men and
another five or six died near the intersection
of Harnett and Fourth Streets. Mayo was
taken to a nearby drug store for treatment by
Dr. John T. Schonwald who lived close to
the scene. Mayo’s injury was serious, but
Telegram from Governor Russell to Walker
Taylor
Image: North Carolina State Archives
65 NC Public Documents, Adjutant General’s Report,
1899, Document 9.
66 Hayden, WLI, 88.